New Color Brightness Specification Benefits Home Theater Industry

New Color Brightness Specification Benefits Home Theater Industry

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CEDIA -- This week, at CEDIA 2012, the leading residential electronics and home theater show, manufacturers will showcase a wide range of products, including the latest projectors. In a discerning market such as home theater, image quality is critical to a projector's performance, and now, with the Society for Information Display's publication of a new standard for measuring Color Light Output, users will be better able to accurately evaluate an important aspect of color performance - the brightness of color.

In May of this year, the Society for Information Display (SID), a highly respected, global professional organization dedicated to the development of the display industry, published the ground-breaking International Display Metrology Standard (IDMS). The first of its kind document provides the industry with a reference guide to key specifications and measurement methodologies for displays, and includes the scientifically supported specification for Color Light Output, or Color Brightness.

Given the demand for vibrant color and the explosion in high-definition and 3D content in today's home theater market, a standardized color brightness specification could not have come at a better time.

"Home theater is a 'no compromises' market," said Tamaryn Pratt, president of Quixel Research, an industry analyst firm. "Particularly in the 3D market, users demand superior color and image quality, but generally, 3D projection reduces a projector's brightness. The Color Light Output specification will support the display industry's ongoing quest to deliver Best-in-Class performance."

Color Light Output, measured in Lumens, provides manufacturers with a specification complimentary to White Light Output, also measured in Lumens. Consumers will now be able to evaluate both the White and Color Brightness of a projector, key contributors to color performance. Included in the IDMS document, the new specification promises to cast light on a major point of difference in projectors, which until now, has been impossible to quantify.

"Previously, the industry was battling a weakness in performance measurement, as end users could not quantify color for many projectors on the market," said Tim Anderson, senior product marketing manager for 3LCD. "We've touted the color performance of 3LCD projectors for years, but with the SID's standardization of Color Light Output, we're going to see a change in the way users evaluate and compare projectors moving forward."

Manufacturers can now provide customers with additional information on projector performance, beyond resolution, white brightness and contrast ratio. In the past, Color Brightness was not included on traditional projector specification sheets; resellers and end-users had to rely on White Light Output levels alone to evaluate a projector's brightness, and the information for White Brightness is often misinterpreted by end users. For many projectors, the Color Brightness is much lower than the specified White Brightness, but in a projector with high Color Brightness, the levels will be the same.

"Image quality and color are important to the overall performance of a projector, and a key consideration as we review projectors," said Art Feierman, editor of ProjectorReviews.com. "Potential projector owners want to have the right kind of information available to make good decisions. With that in mind, the new Color Light Output specification provides a critical piece of the puzzle, and should be considered as important as measuring white lumens.

Color Light Output is scientifically backed, easy to measure and simple to use. It provides critical information to projector buyers regarding the differences in color between competing projectors. The development of the IDMS and the Color Light Output specification benefited from the expertise of the SID, whose members include display metrologists, electrical, mechanical, software and optical engineers, physicists, vision scientists, and professionals in many other display-related disciplines. The specification was also previously researched and verified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in their paper NISTIR 6657.

Details on the International Display Measurement Standard and the methodology provided in the color performance specification are available, free of charge at http://www.icdm-sid.org/downloads/, or on the SID website, www.SID.org. The National Institute of Science & Technology paper is available on the NIST website at http://www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=901354.

For more information about 3LCD technology and the wide variety of products and leading manufacturers that use it, visit www.3LCD.com.

About 3LCD Technology

3LCD is the world's leading projection technology, delivering unbelievably bright and natural color, amazing detail and road-tested reliability. Using an advanced, 3-chip optical engine, 3LCD offers full-time color for brilliant quality images. 3LCD is based on LCD technology, which is used by leading manufacturers worldwide for the ultimate viewing experience in flat panel TVs and projectors. To find out why more users choose 3LCD than all other projection technologies combined and to get the latest list of leading companies offering 3LCD technology in their products, visit the 3LCD website at http://www.3LCD.com.

SOURCE 3LCD

3LCD

CONTACT: Kari Ramse, kari.ramsey@zenogroup.com

Web Site: http://www.3lcd.com


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